Disney's Club Level (CL) Information & Questions

[Ricguz]

This was specific to the fact that the Grand Floridian CL is currently closed for renovation, with completion date TBD, but guesses and estimates suggest Oct-Nov. The poster has a GF CL stay booked for September 2023 that was booked in 2022. As it appears unlikely that GF CL will be reopened by that time, the poster is concerned about the lack of communication. Was that the case with your Dec 2022 YC CL trip? A renovation? In any case, reaching out to Signature Services is a great tip.

No there was no Reno at that time at YC CL. Definitely reach out to them with concerns, they are very helpful.

 

[Minnie1222]

Just checked into BWI CL whoop! The CMs are so sweet and the remodeled rooms are cuter that I thought they be. They left a nice card and taffy which was nice. Best of all slippers are back in the room! I always love the slippers lol!

Are there fewer CL guests due to the construction? Do they still have water bottles in the lounge? Thanks.

 

[mystery222184]

Are there fewer CL guests due to the construction? Do they still have water bottles in the lounge? Thanks.

Not less guests - the lounge was actually completely full tonight for the first half of dinner. The staff were very on top of everything though! Very nice refurb!

Even with a packed lounge it was more relaxing than CR Tower Club - which has had more issues than usual today (Also packed, but some guests not realizing the lounge is shared space and the staff far less on top of things compared to BWI.

 

[Minnie1222]

Not less guests - the lounge was actually completely full tonight for the first half of dinner. The staff were very on top of everything though! Very nice refurb!

Even with a packed lounge it was more relaxing than CR Tower Club - which has had more issues than usual today (Also packed, but some guests not realizing the lounge is shared space and the staff far less on top of things compared to BWI.

Thank you for your reply. Looking forward to booking soon.

 

[mkh531]

with a family of four , and the two kids being teenagers who eat more than I do, does club level end saving money (or breaking even)? Breakfast buffet at our hotel is 25 pp…so i feel like with snacks etc (and not even counting CL as a meal other than breakfast) we’d end up breaking even. Has anyone found this to be true in reality, or is this just wishful thinking on my part? Teens eat SO MUCH.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

with a family of four , and the two kids being teenagers who eat more than I do, does club level end saving money (or breaking even)? Breakfast buffet at our hotel is 25 pp…so i feel like with snacks etc (and not even counting CL as a meal other than breakfast) we’d end up breaking even. Has anyone found this to be true in reality, or is this just wishful thinking on my part? Teens eat SO MUCH.

Yes, IMO, it is possible. It depends what you are comparing it to though, and what rates you are getting for CL. IF you are comparing to a non CL room at a deluxe hotel, and you would normally eat at WDW restaurants, then it can come out okay with 4 people.

IF you are comparing it to offsite hotels w/breakfast included, then offsite costs quite a bit less. If you would normally stay at a mod or value, and/or you buy groceries/cook, then those options probably cost less.

If a CL adds roughly $160 - that's my rough idea of a decent price range- and you have 4 people that are not small children. though with small children CL can be convenient.

A factor for me is that at WDW, time= $. Eating breakfast in the CL can be a real time saver. Even if you take your time in the lounge, you are in the lounge, not walking back and forth between your room and the food court/lounge. Eating offsite also costs time. Mind, we sometimes eat offsite. Offsite food can be great quality at lower prices than WDW, but not always.

The value of CL also depends a great deal on how much you plan to eat there. If you are paring CL with nightly buffets, no. (cost f buffets is too high). If you pair CL with QS/ and non-buffets then more likely. If you only use the CL for breakfast, probably not.

To make the value more in your favor = CL breakfast, CL beverages, PLUS a PM visit every day (either appetizers or desserts or maybe both), but that = going back to the hotel, which doesn't always pair well with park touring.

Another aspect is how early you arrive (1st day) and late you stay your last day. Also, CL lounge breakfast starts at 7am. It can be tricky to eat in the CL, plus make rope drop and book BG/G+ (also at 7am). There has to be some trade-off there.

There are times when the price of CL rack rate is pretty crazy high though.

At $160 and 4 people, that's $40/day. It might help to runs some math on what you would spend on food/beverages if not staying CL vs. staying CL.

 

[Ricguz]

It’s is an around a $300 difference give or take. from CL to standard resort rooms. The standard room at YC is $686 vs Resort view CL $989. Family of four for breakfast for you at the 25 per person rate is $100. Lunch at CL is some fruit, vegetables, dip, lunchables, and drinks. Lunch for you at QS would be around $25 per person including drinks. Dinner however for a family of four could be around $50 per person. So you’re up to $200 a day and that is probably the minimum. With CL you get unlimited beverages, beer, wine, cordials, deserts, coffee. You can have as much as you want to eat so you will in my opinion break even if you do what I said above. Now take into account you are more than likely going to be at the parks most of the day so you will eat breakfast and light dinner at CL, eat lunch at the parks and then may not be around for desert and cordials because you will be back at the parks or the teens will be. When my kids were younger, we did the dining plans and standard rooms. Now it’s just us, it’s CL only. If it’s a money issue you maybe better with a standard room and invest more on eating on your time not rushing around at CL 7-10AM and 5-7 pm when food is available. Also consider with Genie+ if you do that your also timing rides, early entry etc…. I am probably not much help but I would stick with standard rooms and not CL. The teens will want to eat more at the parks than what is offered at CL. If your at the BC/YC the Ale and Compass has a daily breakfast buffet for for $23 per person with everything you could want. I do not know what other resorts and what they offer. Hope I made some sense.

 

[mkh531]

Thanks! Yes I’m comparing BC regular room to BC CL room, and as I compare yes its about 200 per day difference for the dates we are going. I hadn‘t thought about the fact that my kids might prefer eating in the parks! Will talk to dh more as he’s the most interested in saving time as he will likely be working remotely for part of the trip. Thanks so much…We haven’t been since 2019 and the parks and my kids have changed so much!

 

[Ricguz]

Thanks! Yes I’m comparing BC regular room to BC CL room, and as I compare yes its about 200 per day difference for the dates we are going. I hadn‘t thought about the fact that my kids might prefer eating in the parks! Will talk to dh more as he’s the most interested in saving time as he will likely be working remotely for part of the trip. Thanks so much…We haven’t been since 2019 and the parks and my kids have changed so much!

If that’s the case, staying at BC, Ale and Compass would fit into your plans, you can eat at your time. Kids will eat at the park for lunch. Dinner is at your time and choice. Won’t need to worry about early entry(perk of deluxe resort). I stay at BC/YC CL frequently so I do know the lay out. Now you also have the pool factor since you have the best resort pool at Disney. They can also get lunch drinks at Hurricane Hanna’s. If they drink at lot of soda etc It could be worth your while getting a refillable mug (21$). You can use it at the resort and Hannah’s, maybe at Boardwalk Bakery? Also since you’re on the boardwalk, you have a number of restaurants including Boardwalk Pizza, Big River Grille so it not as expensive as other restaurants and it will save you money. Some of the sandwiches at BC Marketplace and Marketplace at YC are decent for around $12. Cape May is a fun breakfast buffet and if they like seafood nighttime buffet. A little pricey but once is decent if the budget allows. Also there are some lounges for the adults at Ale and Compass, Crews Cup and Martha Vineyard. Any other info, please let me know if I can help.

 

[PPFlight75]

Are there fewer CL guests due to the construction? Do they still have water bottles in the lounge? Thanks.

The lounge was never without a table but was sometimes close to full. Other times not too many so seemed like the last time I was here. They do have the refillable bottles available.

 

[focusondisney]

with a family of four , and the two kids being teenagers who eat more than I do, does club level end saving money (or breaking even)? Breakfast buffet at our hotel is 25 pp…so i feel like with snacks etc (and not even counting CL as a meal other than breakfast) we’d end up breaking even. Has anyone found this to be true in reality, or is this just wishful thinking on my part? Teens eat SO MUCH.

You’ve already gotten some good feedback. As pointed out, the lounge doesn’t open til 7. If you’re planning to do some of the half hour early entries, you probably won’t be eating breakfast in the lounge that morning. You’ll either be waiting for a bus or walking to studios. The menus are on a 3 day rotation, so depending on how long you’re staying, you’ll be getting repeats. I think the other thing about the club level foods to know is, you might not like what’s offered at any particular time. Are you kids picky about foods? If they don’t like the evening options, will it bother you if they want to go buy something else? As for portions, you serve your self, but a lot of things are plated in bite sized portions. You can have as much as you want, but it’s not always easy to do. If your kids are the pile it high on the plate kind of eaters, CL isn’t the same thing at all.

On the other hand, if your husband is going to be working while the rest of the family is in the parks, it will be very convenient for him. Grabbing breakfast & snacks during a quick break can be worth it. Plus if he’s trying to work, the lounge can be a good place for the rest of you to get out of his way. Or will your husband want to get out of the hotel by appetizer time, hit the parks & have a nice dinner? Don’t forget there is beer, wine & cordials available. But limited varieties. We don’t drink, but it can be a good savings if you do & like what’s offered.

I don’t know if I’m any help, but just wanted to give you more things to think about. Good luck with your decision!

 

[Ricguz]

with a family of four , and the two kids being teenagers who eat more than I do, does club level end saving money (or breaking even)? Breakfast buffet at our hotel is 25 pp…so i feel like with snacks etc (and not even counting CL as a meal other than breakfast) we’d end up breaking even. Has anyone found this to be true in reality, or is this just wishful thinking on my part? Teens eat SO MUCH.

I forgot to add, if you go back to pages1939 and 1940 some of the members posted pictures of the food at YC CL. I added the 3 day rotated foods such as Greek, Quinoa and Caesar salads. And the other rotation is chicken quinoa, Thai beef, tuna poke, Mac and cheese, pulled pork, seafood finger sandwich, chicken nuggets, mini hot dogs, crepes, pot roasts with mashed potatoes. All the food was very good. I just got back from 11 days there. Breakfast also rotated on a three day rotation. Pancakes, usually an egg dish such as a frittata, scrambled eggs with goat cheese,and spinach, ham and egg or egg white omelette. For meat chicken sausage, pork sausage or ham. Assorted breads, bagels. Breakfast pastries, oatmeal, fruit and yogurt.

 

[focusondisney]

I posted some on pages 1963 & 64 also.

 

[kandb]

We are staying CL at BWI in August. How far ahead of time can we find out the "dinner/appetizer" offerings at CL? It is always a surprise? Some nights we might just eat light and not go to a sit down dinner but it would really be dependent on what is offered. Thanks for any help!

 

[Ricguz]

We are staying CL at BWI in August. How far ahead of time can we find out the "dinner/appetizer" offerings at CL? It is always a surprise? Some nights we might just eat light and not go to a sit down dinner but it would really be dependent on what is offered. Thanks for any help!

Everything is on a 3 day rotation. Usually what is offered today will more than likely be the same when you arrive in August. You can check this board or BWI board to see if there are any updates. Maybe there are BWI resort guest that can post some pics of the offerings?

 

[The Foolish Mortal]

Just starting to think about a longer trip for next year and wanted some opinions on the Poly club level versus the Contemporary club level.

I have stayed at a Poly club level room one time several years ago. I liked the club well enough. Great staff, decent food, nice view of the fireworks, and i liked the second level (often less busy) seating area. Overall I recall everything being decent but nothing outstanding (other than very friendly staff). The downside was that we stayed in the Moorea building and had to hike over to the club building each time we wanted to use the club.

Never been to the Contemporary club level. Is there a big difference between them? Is one much better than the other. Is the CR club in the main building with the rooms (like Beach, yacht, or GT Tower)? Thanks

 

[NicoleLarson]

with a family of four , and the two kids being teenagers who eat more than I do, does club level end saving money (or breaking even)? Breakfast buffet at our hotel is 25 pp…so i feel like with snacks etc (and not even counting CL as a meal other than breakfast) we’d end up breaking even. Has anyone found this to be true in reality, or is this just wishful thinking on my part? Teens eat SO MUCH.

If you will actually use the lounge then 100% for sure. But if you are going to be in the parks all day rope drop to close then probably not. Keep in mind that $25/ pp breakfast doesn't include tax and tip so it will be closer to $125.

I recently took a trip with myself and 4 teens and I saved a ton. Teens do eat a lot and it was great to not have to pack snacks and worry about drinks all day long.

With that being said, $1000/night seems really high for Sept. Are there any other resorts you would consider that might have a better deal? BWI has a great CL and is usually gets better discounts.

 

[leannak]

Can you grab beverages in the lounges to take with you into the park? What about snacks? I would feel so weird grabbing a bunch of things and walking out

 

[mrsap]

Can you grab beverages in the lounges to take with you into the park? What about snacks? I would feel so weird grabbing a bunch of things and walking out

Yes! You can take both! Enjoy!

 

[mkh531]

If you will actually use the lounge then 100% for sure. But if you are going to be in the parks all day rope drop to close then probably not. Keep in mind that $25/ pp breakfast doesn't include tax and tip so it will be closer to $125.

I recently took a trip with myself and 4 teens and I saved a ton. Teens do eat a lot and it was great to not have to pack snacks and worry about drinks all day long.

With that being said, $1000/night seems really high for Sept. Are there any other resorts you would consider that might have a better deal? BWI has a great CL and is usually gets better discounts.

It’s not 1k a night it’s 1000 spread over the cost of the trip. since I postEd this, we decided to get a regular room and get some snacks delivered from Amazon or Instacart since there are so many additional costs since our last vacation to Disney in 2019. No more magical express means we have to pay for airport transfers, genie+ each day, lightning lanes, magic bands, just staying in a park until 11 pm…none of that used to cost extra.